"A speech act in linguistics and the philosophy of language is an utterance that has performative function in language and communication." Speech act is an utterance considered as an action, particularly with regard to its intention, purpose, or effect. Some examples of speech acts are apologies, greetings, requests, and complaints. Chapter 3 in Toye's book touches upon speech acts as well as 'New Rhetoric' as a means to explain the problem of meaning and intention in speeches.
Toye concludes in this chapter that if a speaker's intention is often opaque and in a sense unknowable, their rhetoric can still provide a window to the values of the societies in which they originate.
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